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Submission + - Human Rights Groups Join Criticism of WikiLeaks (wsj.com) 1

Submitted by e065c8515d206cb0e190
e065c8515d206cb0e190 writes: Several human rights organizations contacted Wikileaks and pressed them to do a better job at hiding information that endangers civilians from their leaked documents. Wikileaks editor Julian Assange issued a strong rebuke. From the article:

Mr. Assange then replied: "I'm very busy and have no time to deal with people who prefer to do nothing but cover their asses. If Amnesty does nothing I shall issue a press release highlighting its refusal," according to people familiar with the exchange.

Comment Re:Rules 1 through 7 of using a Cell Phone (Score 2, Informative) 585

by Pezistential (#30897778) Attached to: The Cell Phone Has Changed — New Etiquette Needed

Of course it can be quite a distraction for many drivers to try and hold a phone to their ear or type out a text while driving, What about hands free, e.g., bluetooth headsets? A quick poke of a button on your ear to answer a call shouldn't be any different than pushing a button to change the channel on your radio. If the phone is set to auto answer, it's not much different than having a conversation with a passenger in the vehicle.

There is a (maybe not so) subtle difference between a cell phone conversation and one with a person in the car. Passengers in a car tend to have at least partial awareness of what is happening in traffic and can adjust accordingly or even warn the driver (maybe that is worse, in some cases) Fiddling with a cell phone certainly can't help one's driving, but I think it's the conversation (with a non-present party) that is the real problem. Link below is a study... http://www.psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition/publications/passenger.pdf
Security

Doom-Like Video Surveillance For Ports In Development 56

Posted by Soulskill from the hurt-me-plenty dept.
oranghutan writes "A research and development group down under is working to develop an advanced video surveillance system for ports around the world that uses video superimposed onto a 3D map. With 16-megapixel high-definition cameras on a distributed (cabled) network and a proprietary system written in a variety of languages (C++, Python, SQL, etc.), the group from NICTA is aiming to allow security teams at the Port of Brisbane — which is 110km long — to monitor shipping movements, cargo and people. By scrolling along a 3D map, the security teams can click on a location and then get a real-time video feed superimposed onto the map. Authorities from around the world with the right permissions can then access the same system. The main difference from regular surveillance systems is the ability to switch views without having to know camera numbers/locations and the one screen view."
Space

Super-Earths Discovered Orbiting Nearby, Sun-Like Star 242

Posted by Soulskill from the i-for-one dept.
likuidkewl writes "Two super-earths, 5 and 7.5 times the size of our home, were found to be orbiting 61 Virginis a mere 28 light years away. 'These detections indicate that low-mass planets are quite common around nearby stars. The discovery of potentially habitable nearby worlds may be just a few years away,' said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. Among hundreds of our nearest stellar neighbors, 61 Vir stands out as being the most nearly similar to the Sun in terms of age, mass, and other essential properties."

Comment Re:Biomimetics (Score 1) 92

by Pezistential (#30069828) Attached to: Mimicking Materials and Structures In Nature

If an intelligent designer was constructing clever solutions and using them for life then it seems incredibly strange that solutions don't get used multiple times.

an example in evolutionary terms is convergence (don't know/care what it would be in ID)... whether evolution or the flying spaghetti monster is the driving force, your statement above is fallacious.

Comment Re:Biomimetics (Score 1) 92

by Pezistential (#30069386) Attached to: Mimicking Materials and Structures In Nature
In nature there are many examples of solutions that get used time and time again (e.g. DNA replication: used by all life) ... and there are the unique solutions too (niche anyone?). Neither fact does much to prove or disprove ID or evolution. Seems pretty non-sequitur to me... comes off a bit hypersensitive too.
Bug

Major Snow Leopard Bug Said To Delete User Data 353

Posted by kdawson from the clean-as-the-driven-snow dept.
inglishmayjer was one of several readers to send in the news of a major bug in Apple's new OS, 10.6 Snow Leopard, that can wipe out all user data for the administrator account. It is said to be triggered — not every time — by logging in to the Guest account and then back in to the admin account. Some users are reporting that all settings have been reset and most data is gone. The article links to a number of Apple forum threads up to a month old bemoaning the problem. MacFixIt suggests disabling login on the Guest account and, if you need that functionality, creating a non-administrative account named something like Visitor. (The Guest account is special in that its settings are wiped clean after logout.) CNet reports that Apple has acknowledged the bug and is working on a fix.
Entertainment

Marge Simpson Poses For Playboy 413

Posted by samzenpus from the drawn-to-please dept.
caffiend666 writes "'Marge Simpson is posing for Playboy . The magazine is giving the star of The Simpsons the star treatment, complete with a data sheet, an interview and a 2-page centerfold. 'We knew that this would really appeal to the 20-something crowd,' said Playboy spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey. Playboy even convinced 7-Eleven to carry the magazine in its 1,200 corporate-owned stores, something the company has only done once before in more than 20 years." Worst issue ever!

Submission + - Ford's new radar technology based on Open Source (bbc.co.uk) 1

Submitted by
zakkie
zakkie writes: "Ford is releasing new safety-enhancing radar equipment for its new Taurus sedan. The radar itself is based on F22 fighter radar but interestingly it's claimed that the software is built from open source. What that may mean in the vague waffling context of the article is unclear, but it's interesting simply because they've gone to the effort of stating it in those words. Clearly "open source" is being thought of outside the IT world as a good thing, and that surely is itself a good thing."
NASA

Submission + - SPAM: NASA probe blasts 461 gigabytes of moon data daily 1

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "On its current space scouting mission, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is using a pumped up communications device to deliver 461 gigabytes of data and images per day, at a rate of up to 100 Mbps. As the first high data rate K-band transmitter to fly on a NASA spacecraft, the 13-inch-long tube, called a Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier, is making it possible for NASA scientists to receive massive amounts of images and data about the moon's surface and environment. The amplifier was built by L-3 Communications Electron Technologies in conjunction with NASA's Glenn Research Center. The device uses electrodes in a vacuum tube to amplify microwave signals to high power. It's ideal for sending large amounts of data over a long distance because it provides more power and more efficiency than its alternative, the transistor amplifier, NASA stated. [spam URL stripped]"
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